Folding Guard Corporation Increases Capacity and Quality by Moving to Bigger Facility.

Bedford Park (January, 2007) — Folding Guard Corporation, a leading provider of welded and woven wire security, safety and loss prevention products, has recently moved its operations and manufacturing plant from Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood to Bedford Park, IL. Folding Guard's new location is situated in an industrial development just 10 miles southwest of Chicago's downtown Loop.

“In order to better serve the growing needs of our customers and streamline our processes, it was imperative to find larger facilities on a single floor,” stated Doug Wynne, President of Folding Guard Corporation. The new facility nearly doubles the previous space, totaling 168,000 square-feet. Folding Guard hired an engineering consultant familiar with the machinery and processes used to manufacture their products, to design the new plant layout with the purpose of increasing workflow and efficiency. The single floor facility provides seamless manufacturing from raw material to finished goods. Manufacturing, paint, packaging, shipping and office support are now on one floor and the result has been a 50 percent increase in capacity and efficiency.

Folding Guard has added two new mesh welders and four new pick-and-place robots to the manufacturing plant, and will have a new powder coating system operational by February 2007. “By bringing the powder coating in-house, we now have total control of the entire manufacturing process, and that means even greater quality and reliability,” stated Mr. Wynne. “We want to offer our customers the highest quality finishes available.”

The relocation required meticulous planning to ensure no break in service to customers and no loss of productivity. Planning and implementation took 6 months, including inventory build-up, teardown of each product line, assembly of equipment in the new plant, and lastly, moving all personnel.